My favorite block in Florida is in St. Pete at 22nd Ave North and 29th St North. You’ve got all the awesomeness of the pasta, pastries, wine, and cheese at Mazzaro’s Italian Market on one side. On the other, Bananas Records has so many unique finds in their shop that take you back to the 1900s. (Sounds so long ago when you say it that way doesn’t it?)
Bananas Records has been around since 1977. That’s almost as long as Q105 has been around. Bananas is mostly known for their enormous vinyl collection. According to their website, they have 3-1/2 MILLION records. But they also sell random throwback stuff like lunchboxes, band t-shirts, CDs, DVDs, old radios, and technology that Best Buy gave up on years ago. But it takes you back. It’s the closest thing to time travel we have so unless you have a DeLorean, go back in time here in St. Pete.
They still host live music events and it’s the destination for vinyl enthusiasts on Record Store Day coming up next month. Record Store Day was started back in 2007. It’s held every April on a Saturday. It’s the day I always like to bust out my DVD of the movie “Empire Records.” But a visit to Banana’s is another great way to celebrate the day and keep a piece of music history alive.
If you’ve never dropped in, Bananas Records is at 2887 22nd Avenue North in St. Pete. They’re open Monday through Thursday from 10AM to 5:30PM. Friday and Saturday they stay open until 7pm. On Sunday, hours are from noon to 5pm. I’d go on a weekday because Mazzaro’s has very limited hours on the weekend. They’re open for just a few hours on Saturday and closed Sunday. And a trip to that block is incomplete without a visit to both Mazzaro’s Italian Market and Banana’s Records.
